What if there were a way to create more flexibility, earn additional income, explore different practice settings, or simply give yourself space to figure out what’s next? In this episode, pediatrician Dr. Trevor Cabrera—also known as the “Nomadic Pediatrician”—shares how choosing locum tenens immediately after residency launched an unexpected journey through hospitals and communities across the country. Along the way, he discovered that locums can be much more than a temporary job. From new graduates to experienced physicians seeking greater flexibility, autonomy, or career exploration, locum tenens can be a powerful way to design a career that fits your life.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- Why Dr. Trevor Cabrera chose locum tenens immediately after residency instead of a traditional physician job
- Common misconceptions about locum tenens and the realities of working as a locums physician
- Who is eligible to do locums and important credentialing considerations
- How to find reputable locums agencies, evaluate recruiters, and choose the right opportunities
- What to expect with compensation, scheduling flexibility, and contract negotiations
- The personal and professional benefits of practicing in different communities across the country
- Why locum tenens can be a valuable option for physicians at different career stages—from new graduates to experienced physicians seeking greater flexibility, autonomy, or career exploration
Links for this episode:
Dr. Trevor Cabrera’s LinkedIn Profile
NALTO National Organization of Locum Tenens Organization
www.TheNomadicPediatrician.com
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The credentialing bullet is the one I would put first for anyone taking Dr. Cabrera’s route, because it sets the pace of a locums career and it is where physicians are a step behind nurses. A travel nurse with a multistate license can take a contract in any of the 40 compact states without applying for another license; a locums physician still needs a license from each state, and the physician compact only speeds the application, each state still issues and charges for its own. We run a job board for travel nurses, and the states outside the compact, California and New York among them, are the ones where an assignment needs weeks to months of lead time for the license instead of days for the paperwork. If you are deciding which states to hold licenses in, the nursing map is a fair picture of what a working compact looks like: how the nurse licensure compact handles multistate practice, state by state. Nursing got there first, and it is worth knowing what it looks like from the other side of the badge.